The Journey's the Thing…

Since I have decided to post my jailhouse haiku project, a little tutorial is in order. Haiku are not as cut and dry as they seem to be. There are different schools of thought surrounding the poetic form, with certain rules that must be followed. The most famous form is used in the practice of Zen Buddhism. The haiku must be an expression of nature, egoless and without any judgment. One must cultivate ‘Mu’, or a state of nothingness, that corresponds to the natural world. Only then will the haiku have ‘satori’, or enlightenment. As western poetry uses metaphor, simile, and all that, Japanese haiku use devices as well. There is the term ‘sabi’, which comes from the noun ‘sabiru’, and means ‘to rust’. This means a word that shows age or aging, like ‘wrinkled’ or ‘weary’. ‘Kigo’ is a seasonal word, like ‘snow’ or ‘leafy’. Then there is ‘yugen’, which is a Zen metaphysical concept that designates the mysterious, what lies beneath the surface. It usually expresses joy, sorrow, or change. Then there are different forms of rhyme, with different syllabic structure, the most famous being 5-7-5. That is 17 syllables, arranged line-by-line. There are ‘Renga’ which are continuous chains of 14 (7-7) , followed by 17 (5-7-5), independently composed, but read as one piece. There are also ‘Senryu’, or mock haiku, which deal with humor and moralizing nuances. They can get pretty ribald and scatological at times.
My own work tends to be more senryu, but I tried for haiku, which is all anyone can really do anyway. To reach satori is to remove oneself from the wheel of life altogether through meditation and prayer. At that point composing haiku is a meaningless pursuit.

So here are 3 more haiku, from cell F201, in no particular order.

#78.
Walking quietly
I can sneak up on the waves
and catch them crashing.

#209.
Quit jamming, crickets,
and put away your fiddles,
morning is rising!

#111.
Man built this stone house:
a mortar of broken souls
holds the keystone tight.

So there are three more haiku, and it is now about 2:30AM and time for me to attempt sleep, once again.

Johnnyboy

Boy oh boy, is it hot! The temp has been in the high 80’s-90’s all weekend, and the humidity has been akin to walking through water, especially at night. My cat jumped in bed with me last night around 11:30, tried to lie down, realized it was too hot to even snuggle, and left to sleep in the bathroom. She has found a spot, underneath the dormer window, next to the sink, that suits her well. It is covered with ceramic tile, and she stretches out and snoozes away. She is there as I write this. Smart kitty. The other animal in the house is my sister’s dog, Henry, named after the author Henry James. He is a Westy, and at the ripe old age of 15, tends to sleep most of the time. When he’s awake he eats, goes outside for a pitstop or two, and barks at nothing in particular. I think he has the canine version of Alzhiemer’s Disease. Sometimes he’ll start off at a quick trot outside and then stop dead, as if he’s forgotten what he’s doing. He’ll seem confused for a second, and then become distracted by something again. He and the cat have a great relationship. She is certainly not threatened by him, and he is very curious about her. When we are outside, she walks beside him, lays down in the grass next to him and reaches out with her foreleg, just touching him on the shoulder. It’s very sweet. She seems to be acting as a kind of nursemaid or caregiver at times. We should all be so lucky.

The elderly aren’t suited very well to this heat. At the age of 81, my mother is effected by the heat as well. She becomes run-down more quickly, needs to slow down more often, and should be drinking more water, but she is not. She wears herself out and is asleep by 9PM. Of course then she’s awake by 3:30 or 4AM, and starting her day. She exhausts herself, which in her case is not the healthiest way to live. I wish I could find a way to make her just stop, not worry about her children, and take a breather. Her own history, upbringing, and senses of responsibility drive her to a point of breaking, and then she stops. I am trying to learn a new way of living. I am trying to see farther ahead to where that breaking point lies, and to stop before I run out of juice and have to collapse. To conserve my energy, in all situations, to not get so dragged out that I cannot function, is my goal today. Whether I accomplish that goal is another thing, but I just have to worry about today, not the rest of my life.

Johnnyboy